Hello and welcome to another episode of Engine English! Every language has its own idioms and expressions and the English language has plenty of phrases that are useful to learn. Idioms are words or phrases that aren’t meant to be taken literally and usually have a cultural meaning behind them. Most of the English idioms you hear are offering advice but also contain some underlying principles and values. You have probably heard some of them, especially in TV shows and movies, and wondered why you can’t understand these idioms even though you fully understand the words. Learning English idioms and expressions can take some time but there are some of them that are more popular than others that will come in handy if you know them. When you learn English idioms and phrases you will sound more confident especially when you speak with native English speakers. If you can’t understand idioms you will not be able to understand the context. That is why I have gathered some of the most common English idioms and phrases so you will understand their true meaning of them.

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Engine English

Episode 8 - 25 Most Common English Idioms and Phrases

On a Monday morning or after a night out with friends, staying focused in class can feel impossible. You yawn, your eyes feel tired and the desk starts to look increasingly attractive as a temporary bed of sorts. It’s time to reach out for some of your brain’s favourite attention and memory boosters and wake up again.

So before next Monday’s class – whether back home or in an EF school somewhere on the other side of the world – whip up a blueberry shake, drink a cup of coffee, eat some nuts or go nuts and eat a baked potato for lunch. Your brain and your teacher will thank you, trust us.

Our top 5 brain foods:

1. A strong cup of coffee

Every student knows that the local barista that makes that daily morning cup is their best friend. Coffee is really good for waking you up and keeping you focused for a short amount of time, but drink too much and you’ll feel jittery and ill.

2. A fruit shake

Preferably with super healthy blueberries and with natural sugars in the form of glucose, a fruit shake can provide a short-term memory boost in addition to vitamins and minerals that your whole body needs. Overdo it and you’re likely to feel tired soon after.

3. A handful of dark chocolate pieces and nuts

They’re as brain-boosting as anything (dark chocolate even has some caffeine) and they’re anti-ageing too.

4. Fish and baked potatoes for lunch

We know, we know – they’re not the most attractive items on the menu, but your brain loves both. Salmon and other fatty fish have loads of Omega-3 fats that boost memory and slow your brain’s decline as you age, while potatoes provide steady energy that your brain really needs (it takes up 20% of your body’s energy!)

5. Pumpkin seeds
They’re full of zinc, iron and minerals that help transport oxygen to the brain, and nerve cells to communicate and boost your brain power. A great cheap and healthy snack.

5 brain foods to keep you awake (and make you smarter)

Strop. Codswallop. Knackered. Just like the picture of a chair in the street above (no, we don’t get it either), we Brits do say some strange things sometimes – usually because they evolved from the many, many (many) vastly different regional dialects that exist across the UK (or the strange and very long history of the English language.) Unfortunately, that doesn’t help if you’re learning English in Britain and can’t understand half of what people are saying!

6 British English phrases that make no sense

There are many different ways to learn a second language, from taking classes to reading books or even using an app. But one way has been proven more effective than the others; language immersion. 

Have you used language immersion to learn a new language? Let me know in the comment section.